Even though the newly discovered coronavirus (COVID-19) strain is not yet considered as a variant of concern, President Duterte had warned the public that the government may impose stricter measures anew if the so-called IHU variant comes to the Philippines.
Duterte made the statement after following a new variant called B.1.640.2, or IHU as dubbed by researchers at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Institute in Marseilles, that was first identified in France in November last year.
In his public address on Thursday, January 6, the President said it was only a matter of time before the new variant reaches the Philippines as Filipinos have always been allowed to go home.
"Dadating rin ito (It will come here). Whether we like it or not, dadating 'to (It will come)," he said.
"And because we cannot --- you know, when a Filipino comes home, you cannot bar him from going back to his country. That’s ridiculous," he added.
Duterte said when the time comes, the government will enforce stricter measures anew to contain the spread of the new variant.
"So we might come up with a more stricter --- tutal nandiyan naman ‘yung mga pulis (after all the police are there)... That should give us the guarantee that there would be no more violations of that nature," he said.
Duterte was referring to the incident involving Gwyneth Chua, a Filipina returning to the country from the United States and was reported to have cut her required quarantine at a hotel in Makati City due to her connections to attend a party in Poblacion.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has not declared IHU as a variant of concern nor even an official variant of interest. It, however, said that the new variant has been on its radar.
Health experts said it was still too early to speculate on the virological, epidemiologic, or clinical features of this IHU variant and suggested to continue focusing on the Delta and Omicron variants.